Is Alcohol Holding You Back?

Even an after-work beer every day may be too much

If you are reading this post, you probably have a drug problem of some kind. Don’t feel ashamed, in actuality, you’re looking for help and/or motivation to stay sober. I have been clean for almost a year now. I have done a lot of work on myself to make myself a happier, healthier person.

If you want to get ahead and be crazy rich like I do, it is vital to eradicate alcohol and drugs from your life. This will only slow you down and make the goal of becoming wealthy impossible. You need your brain to be sharp.

Some people may go to work to enjoy beer afterwards. As long as you’re okay with that, but if you do want to get further ahead than that, then you don’t need to read this article. But keep reading if you think you want to change.

Admitting you have a problem

The first step in breaking your addiction to drugs is to admit you have a problem. You are living paycheque-to-paycheque because you spend money on alcohol every day, and you're changing jobs every week. If you don’t recognize you have a problem you will stay stuck.

Alcoholism runs in the family, like mine. My cousin is a journeyman carpenter and was living in a shack he built in my aunt’s backyard. I remember visiting him and even sleeping in his shack. He was violent, angry and pressuring me to drink. He is my cousin and I care about him, but I don’t like being around him when he is drunk. I remember the next morning, he drank hard liquor at 7 AM and went off to work. When I inquired about his job the following week, he told me he got fired and he didn’t care because he could get another job. He doesn’t realize he’s going to run out of new jobs to get.

Ask yourself this if you are using drugs: “Am I truly happy with my life? Should I go to work to piss money away on booze and expensive cigarettes? Why am I working so hard just to feed addiction?”.

There is no benefit to being drunk every single night for years on end. You will end up staying stuck.

Some people may be fine with working manual labour jobs to drink in the evening, and that’s fine if you’re okay with mediocrity. It’s a known fact that a lot of people who work construction jobs drink. They like their beer and that’s it. However, it comes at the cost of being more successful. Instead of watching Netflix or YouTube pounding back a 12-pack, they could be learning a new skill or working on a side hustle, or some business to make more money to save and invest.

These people don’t believe they will ever be successful and live this way until; they die. It shows a lack of respect for themselves to allow them to get smashed every day after work, while simultaneously complaining about your life.

You know what? If you don’t like it, change it! A lot of the time people don’t due to a lack of self-respect.

A lack of respect for yourself

Most people who use drugs do so because they have no respect for themselves. When I was in my addiction, I would tell myself I was inferior to others. This would create a social anxiety in me I felt I had to medicate with alcohol. I would then go to the liquor store to make myself feel better. The entire time I was using alcohol, I was medicating the anxiety I had of “being a loser”.

The notion I had was fallacious. It became a self-fulfilling prophecy. My friend is doing better than me so I need a drink. Over time, I conditioned myself to drink in situations where I felt less than someone or whenever I gave myself anxiety.

A lot of my problems with alcohol went away when I started treating myself better. If I don’t respect myself, I will not take care of myself. That negative self-talk led to me drinking. Now that I am more respectful toward myself, I don’t feel as much of a need to use

Most addicts use drugs to self-medicate their trauma or mental illness. The evidence suggests that complex mental health and addiction problems (called “concurrent disorders” are best treated simultaneously. With specialized help, the rate of long-term success is much higher.

Respecting yourself will create healthier and cheaper ways of getting dopamine, as this is the hormone you’re trying to release in your brain when you take it.

Drugs Release dopamine and “solve” boredom

Aside from negative self-talk, another shackle that keeps us stuck in addiction is boredom. When you’re bored your brain is looking to get a dopamine hit. Recreational drugs give you this hit. Every drag of a cigarette releases dopamine. This applies to recreational drugs too. Sure, it’s very easy to take a shot of hard liquor and get that reward triggered, but you could also get a promotion or raise at work and get the same reward system triggered. The feeling lasts longer when you do things to take care of yourself.

Compared to healthier activities, drugs are not a feasible way to get that dopamine hit.

Consider this scenario: you wake up and you’re bored. You smoke a cigarette. It’s only after the first few puffs and only after those first few puffs do you feel like your morning has started.

Now consider this scenario: You wake up, grab your phone to check your email, and you see that the company which applied has offered you a job. You will feel more than like your morning has started; you’re getting ahead.

The second scenario is much healthier and lasts longer than the first. I know for myself if I were to receive a job offer I would feel good and I wouldn’t want a cigarette. I could ride that high all day.

Finding a Hobby

The best way to keep your mind off drugs is to find a hobby. You want to find something you’re passionate about. This could be writing, playing an instrument, travelling or even working a job. When you immerse yourself in an activity you get that dopamine hit naturally.

When the doctor approves of my work, I plan to find joy in the work I do. While I’m staking boxes or sweeping floors, I can think to myself “I’m making $16.25 every hour I work”. The paycheque I get at the end of the day releases a lot of dopamine. Then. when I make a payment towards my debt, I get a hit again once again knowing I am paying down my debt.

You want to find hobbies that will keep your mind occupied and not use drugs. Pick something fun, work a job you enjoy, and develop interests other than drugs.

Conclusion

Drugs give us a hit of dopamine. This hit is what gets us addicted to drugs. You must find an activity you enjoy to get that dopamine hit elsewhere. Once you recognize that drugs create a void rather than fill it, the better you will be on the way to recovery.

Also, It’s important to have a high sense of self. Don’t let yourself feel inferior to others. Learn to love yourself. The thing is, loving yourself is critical to recovery. In my case, I would feel less than other people and that will be a trigger to have a drink. What I do now is say to myself “I am a valuable person and I don’t need to use”.

It’s probably going to take professional help, especially if you also have a mental illness to beat your addiction for good. A lot of the time, addiction goes hand-in-hand with mental health, and you may require specialized treatment. Ask the people in your community for resources.

When you find a hobby you enjoy doing, really immerse yourself in that hobby. If you feel the need to smoke, go for a walk. You will feel better doing a healthy exercise and you’re that much closer to stopping. Reward yourself by getting your energy, wit and motivation back by stopping drinking. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.